Rapid urbanization and climate change are reshaping and exacerbating disaster risk. Together, they have added urgency to the task of building resilience in communities and countries around the world.Climate... Show More + extremes that we could hardly imagine and cope with every 20 years are going to happen every two years in this century. This is the message of a sobering report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change about the dramatic climate extremes that are expected to increase around the world.Meeting on the margins of the World Bank/IMF spring meetings on April 20 to discuss the implications of the report for their work on building resilience, donors, developing countries and international organizations reaffirmed their commitment to making disaster resilience a priority in development planning. The group of leading officials also agreed that integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into the development agenda is critical to building resilience in communiti Show Less -

Increases reverse downward trend that began in October 2011WASHINGTON, April 25, 2012— Global food prices increased by 8 percent from December 2011 to March 2012 due to higher oil prices, adverse weather... Show More + conditions, and Asia’s strong demand for food imports, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Food Price Watch.The World Bank’s Global Food Price Index was only 1 percent below a year ago and 6 percent below the February 2011 historic peak. If the current forecasts for increased food production do not materialize, global food prices could reach higher levels, underscoring the need to remain very vigilant.“After four months of consecutive price declines, food prices are on the rise again threatening the food security of millions of people,” said Otaviano Canuto, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM). “Putting food first must remain a priority for the international community and in our work in developing countries.”According to the quarterly F Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Well, thank you very much for joining us for this closing press conference. Our participants will each make an opening statement and then we'll take... Show More + your questions. If I can ask everyone to please turn off your mobile devices or put them to vibrate, we would appreciate it. Chairman Belka. MR. BELKA: Thank you. As we are late, I am not going to be very descriptive about the meeting of the Development Committee. You know the agenda. The discussion was very rich, centering around the social safety nets, the private sector involvement in growth initiatives, as well we discussed modernization of the World Bank. However, one thing that is obvious, it took so long because all the delegates took the opportunity of this Development Committee meeting to express gratitude and adm Show Less -

ILO and World Bank partner to release new data, report on government actionsWASHINGTON, April 20, 2012 – Today the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank (WB) released a joint report... Show More + and new online data tool with the first comprehensive stocktaking of countries’ jobs-related policy responses to the recent global financial and economic crisis. A follow-up to a request from leaders at the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit, the report, Inventory of Policy Responses to the Financial and Economic Crisis, demonstrates how governments across the globe and of all income levels used labor market interventions to limit the economic and social impacts of the crisis and spur employment, household income, and economic growth, and reduce poverty. This new online data tool provides a detailed track record of policies enacted during the height of the financial crisis (2008-2010), and implications for the design of policies to address future economic downturns.“For the fir Show Less -

Washington D.C., April 20, 2012 –The developing world’s progress is seriously lagging on global targets related to food and nutrition, with rates of child and maternal mortality still unacceptably high,... Show More + says the Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2012, released today by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Recent spikes in international food prices have stalled progress across several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the report says.GMR 2012: Food Prices, Nutrition and the Millennium Development Goals reports good progress across some MDGs, with targets related to reducing extreme poverty and providing access to safe drinking water already achieved, several years ahead of the 2015 deadline to achieve the MDGs. Also, targets on education and ratio of girls to boys in schools are within reach.In contrast, the world is significantly off-track on the MDGs to reduce mortality rates of children under five and mothers. As a result, these goals will not be met Show Less -

Definitive Reference for Measuring Development ProgressWASHINGTON, April 19, 2012 — The 2012 edition of World Development Indicators (WDI), released today, includes updated data on global development,... Show More + the quality of people's lives, the environment, the economy, the functioning of states and markets, and global links - how actions in one part of the world affect people elsewhere.Alongside the WDI and the latest update to the on-line WDI database, major improvements to the data access, analysis and visualization tools are also now available. These make it easier than ever to use and analyze the full range of datasets available in the Bank’s data catalog – all freely available as part of the Open Data Initiative launched two years ago.“These new tools and mobile applications take us closer to our vision of getting data into the hands of people everywhere, so that they can be used to inform the decisions of both the policy maker and the individual citizen”, said Shaida Badiee, Director, De Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our World Bank Group press conference for the 2012 Spring Meetings. Joining me this morning is the President of the World Bank... Show More + Group, Robert Zoellick, who will have an opening statement and then take some of your questions. If I could please ask everyone when they ask a question to identify themselves and your organization; and once again, I am sure you have been asked, but if we could have our mobile devices switched off or to "vibrate." So, President Zoellick. MR. ZOELLICK: Thank you, Rich. Welcome, and thanks to all of you for coming. This marks my last Spring Meetings as the President of the World Bank Group, so I would like to begin with a few words of thanks to the Ministers who have supported us and worked with us; to our Executive Board, who have labored hard to help our Management team to modernize the important multilateral institution; to the excellent Senior Manageme Show Less -

Portfolio capital flows see eight-fold rise between early 2011 and 2012Continued slowdown in Europe and sluggish U.S. recoveryPotential China and/or commodity prices downturn WASHINGTON,... Show More + April 18, 2012 – Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries are forced to confront the new global reality of persistent volatility, resulting, among others, from wide fluctuations in capital flows in search of easy profits and with little concern for long-term horizons, according to the semiannual report by the World Bank Chief Economist Office for Latin America and the Caribbean released here today. The report "Latin America Copes with Volatility, The Dark Side of Globalization" finds that portfolio flows to the region have surged in the first months of 2012. Investments from mutual funds in the largest seven LAC countries -- which fell markedly during the second half of 2011 – rose eight times in January and February of 2012, compared to the average monthly flows in t Show Less -

World Bank announces new focus on Social Protection and Labor and releases new open data tool to help countries close the gap in coverage for the poorestWASHINGTON, April 18, 2012 – The World Bank today... Show More + released new data showing that at least 60 percent of people in developing countries – and nearly 80 percent in the world’s poorest countries – lack effective safety net coverage as countries struggle to protect their most vulnerable citizens from the negative impacts of global financial volatility and food and fuel price hikes.Sixty six million children around the world go to school hungry and struggle to concentrate and learn, a deficit that can be addressed with school feeding programs for the poorest. More than 2.8 million newborns die in the first week of their lives. Many of these deaths can be prevented by providing more pre- and post-natal care for mothers and their children. Food insecurity leads to greater family conflict and divorce rates.Expanding cost-effective safety nets Show Less -

April 18, 2012 “Safety nets can transform people’s lives and provide a foundation for inclusive growth without busting budgets. Effective safety net coverage overcomes poverty and promotes economic opportunity... Show More + and gender equality by helping people find jobs, cope with economic shocks, and improve the health, education, and well-being of their children.”--World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick BACKGROUND:Countries have struggled to protect their most vulnerable citizens from the negative impacts of ongoing global financial volatility and food and fuel price hikes. Affordable, efficient, and sustainable social safety net programs–including cash transfers, food assistance, public works programs, and fee waivers–are key tools to protect people, both in response to crises and to address persistent poverty. Yet in many developing countries, safety nets are insufficient or non-existent. At least 60 percent of people in developing countries -- and nearly 80 percent Show Less -

New initiatives announced to help tackle 1.3 million yearly death tollWASHINGTON, DC, April 17, 2012 ---The World Bank hosted the 15th UN Collaboration on Road Safety meeting in Washington, DC on April... Show More + 16-17 aimed at strengthening efforts to support road safety action in the developing world ahead of a UN General Assembly debate on road safety on April 19.As part of a growing international effort to help tackle the 1.3 million yearly death toll on the world’s roads, new initiatives were announced ranging from a road safety observatory for Latin America to the establishment of a road policing organization in Singapore.“Road safety is a development issue that affects poor populations in developing countries disproportionately,” said Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, in a video message at the opening session of the meeting. “Currently, 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads each year and 90 percent of these deaths occur in low- and middl Show Less -

Washington, April 16, 2012 — World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick today congratulated Dr. Jim Yong Kim for being chosen to become the 12th president of the development institution and offered... Show More + his support in ensuring a successful handover for July 1. “I am pleased to work with Jim Yong Kim during the transition. He is an impressive and accomplished individual. Jim has seen poverty and vulnerability first-hand, through his impressive work in developing countries. His innovations in health-care have helped to save numerous lives. As President at Dartmouth College, Jim has had to take tough managerial and financial decisions while running a large, multidisciplinary organization. His rigorous, science-based drive for results will be invaluable for the World Bank Group as it modernizes to better serve client countries in overcoming poverty.” Show Less -

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 - Dr. Jim Yong Kim today released a statement in response to his selection by the World Bank's Executive Directors as 12th President of the World Bank: “I am honored to... Show More + accept the Executive Directors’ decision to select me as the next President of the World Bank Group. I am delighted to succeed Robert Zoellick, who has served with excellence and distinction during the last five years, and I am grateful to the Bank’s member countries for the broad support I have received. I have spoken with Minister Okonjo-Iweala and Professor Ocampo. They have both made important contributions to economic development, and I look forward to drawing on their expertise in the years to come. It is befitting that I conclude my global listening tour in Peru. It was here in the shantytowns of Lima that I learned how injustice and indignity may conspire to destroy the lives and hopes of the poor. It was here that I saw how communities struggle to prosper bec Show Less -

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 - The Executive Directors met today to select a new President of the World Bank Group. The Board expressed its deep gratitude for Mr. Robert B. Zoellick’s outstanding leadership... Show More + and his dedication to reducing poverty in its member countries, the core mandate of the World Bank Group. The Executive Directors followed the new selection process agreed in 2011 which, for the first time in the Bank’s history, yielded multiple nominees. This process included an open nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor, publication of the names of the candidates, interviews of the candidates by the Executive Directors, and final selection of the President. The Executive Directors selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim as President for a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2012. The President is Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Internation Show Less -

Policy makers under pressure can get preoccupied with the fixation of the moment. For the eurozone, that idée fixe has been “the firewall”. How big is big enough? Who contributes and how?Now that the eurozone... Show More + finance ministers have exhausted themselves with a multilayered package of hundreds of billions of euros, the debate will go global at this week’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The next preoccupation will be how many more hundreds of billions of euros should be pledged to the IMF. It will be Firewall II: the Sequel.I beg to differ. Not with firewalls exactly, but with the preoccupation.The survival of the eurozone now depends on Italy and Spain. They are the countries that are too big to fail – or to rescue. Extraordinary action by the European Central Bank has lowered the interest rates that Italy and Spain pay on their debt, but not solved their problems.In one sense, the much-badgered Germans are right. The fates of Italy and Spain depen Show Less -

Latin America can make this the region's decadePledge of US$35 billion annually to the regionCARTAGENA, April 10, 2012 - Latin America and the Caribbean can overcome external threats stemming from the... Show More + Euro-zone debt crisis, slow recovery in the US and China’s deceleration to make this, the region’s decade, leading multilateral lending institutions said today on the eve of the 6th Summit of the Americas.In a joint statement, the multilaterals said that achieving this goal hinges on the determination of governments to seize the opportunity. However the risk of contagion is greater for smaller economies in Central America and the Caribbean, which deserve more support and attention, the institutions warned.An average of US$35 billion annually can be made available to regional economies to support economic growth with social inclusion, the statement said.After recent replenishment rounds, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) should be able to provide US$12 billion, the World Bank Show Less -

Introduction Governors and guests, I’m delighted to welcome you to Washington. When we met in Pernambuco last June, hosted by Governor Campos, all of you presented to my colleagues and... Show More + me an excellent picture of the challenges and opportunities faced by the Northeast states. I left with a sense of great potential, and I wanted to see how the World Bank Group could offer more support.So, thank you for coming. Let’s keep up the momentum.It is also my pleasure to welcome Rubens Gama, Minister and Director of Commercial Promotion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Jurandir Santiago, President of the Bank of the Northeast, and Luciano Coutinho, from the Brazilian National Development Bank.And I’m pleased that my good friends, Luis Alberto Moreno from the IADB and former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Cliff Sobel, will be joining us today.Thanks as well to participants from the private sector. You are the key to the success of this venture. Let me start by m Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2012 -- Disclosure by public officials of their income, assets and interests should be mandated if the fight against corruption is to succeed, according to a study released today... Show More + by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative of the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.The first global study of financial disclosure laws and practices, “Public Office, Private Interests: Accountability through Income and Asset Disclosure” calls for renewed commitment to income and asset disclosure to deter the use of public office for private gain and to help manage actual and apparent conflicts of interest in the public sector. The study also finds that asset disclosure systems are more effective when there is a credible threat that violations will be detected and punished.“Citizens want officials to be honest about their income and assets, to ensure that they are not looting the public coffers or accumulating ill-gotten wealth,” said Jean Pesme, Stolen Asset Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2012 — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today endorsed the institution’s updated governance and anti-corruption strategy and implementation plan as an integral part of... Show More + the work to improve development effectiveness, reduce poverty and promote economic growth.Strengthening Governance, Tackling Corruption: the World Bank Group’s Updated Strategy and Implementation Plan will focus on increasing and systematizing governance and anti-corruption work in country and sector programs; strengthening country institutions; better measuring results from programs and policies; managing risks; supporting governance in global initiatives; and improving the organization of the Bank’s internal resources for governance work.“Accountable institutions are needed to improve development effectiveness, reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth,” said Linda Van Gelder, World Bank Director for Public Sector and Governance. “Our updated strategy will help build those Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2012 - The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank confirmed today that, as announced on February 17, the period for submitting nominations for the position of the next President... Show More + of the World Bank closed on Friday, March 23. The Board is pleased to announce that the following three nominees will be considered for the position:Jim Yong Kim, a US national and President of Dartmouth College, New HampshireJosé Antonio Ocampo, a Colombian national and Professor at Columbia University, New YorkNgozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian national and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, NigeriaIn accordance with the procedures previously announced, the Executive Directors will conduct formal interviews of the three candidates in Washington, D.C., during the following weeks, with the expectation of selecting the new President by consensus by the 2012 Spring Meetings. Show Less -